An unforgettable novel of mothers and daughters, wives and muses, secrets and outright lies

An unforgettable novel of mothers and daughters, wives and muses, secrets and outright lies ‘Freud is a modern literary rarity: a born storyteller’ THE TIMES 'Such a powerful book' RICHARD CURTIS 'Delivers an emotional punch that left me in tears' RACHEL JOYCE 'Utterly compelling' HANNAH ROTHSCHILD 'I couldn't love it more' POLLY SAMSON 'I loved this book' AMANDA CRAIG 'Completely, inspiringly wonderful' BARBARA TRAPIDO 'Breathtakingly beautiful' JULIET NICOLSON AN EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF 2021 Rosaleen is still a teenager, in the early Sixties, when she meets the famous sculptor Felix Lichtman. Felix is dangerous, bohemian, everything she dreamed of in the cold nights at her Catholic boarding school. And at first their life together is glitteringly romantic – drinking in Soho, journeying to Marseilles. But it’s not long before Rosaleen finds herself fearfully, unexpectedly alone. Desperate, she seeks help from the only source she knows, the local priest, and is directed across the sea to Ireland on a journey that will seal her fate. Kate lives in Nineties London, stumbling through her unhappy marriage. But something has begun to stir in her. Close to breaking point, she sets off on a journey of her own, not knowing what she hopes to find. Aoife sits at her husband’s bedside as he lies dying, and tells him the story of their marriage. But there is a crucial part of the story missing and time is running out. Aoife needs to know: what became of Rosaleen? Spanning three generations of women, I Couldn’t Love You More is an unforgettable novel about love, motherhood, secrets and betrayal – and how only the truth can set us free.

"Freud’s book unpicks the promise of liberation - who enjoys it, who pays the price ...The sharp intimacy of the writing is ... full of compassion and a profound decency" - SUNDAY TIMES

"Hits that tricky sweet spot between commercial and literary fiction … Freud’s darting, impressionistic prose is full of riches" - THE TIMES

"Heart-breaking … Shrewd yet tender, stirring as well as harrowing, it’s a tragic saga that nonetheless keeps the door ajar for redemption" - DAILY MAIL

"A tender portrait of three women carrying trauma, pain and the emotional weight of their respective relationships … Freud’s prose is bridled and poignant … Devastating" - IRISH EXAMINER

"A memorable read with some lessons to be learned" - SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

"A beautiful and quietly powerful novel of cruelty, humanity and love" - BUSINESS POST

"Freud is a consummate novelist. Her research is always thorough (in this one intensely imagined and vividly observed), her characters alive … her story page-turning, complex and emotionally satisfying" - SPECTATOR

"Freud is a modern literary rarity: a born storyteller, poetic but never overwrought; thoughtful but never showy" - THE TIMES

"Full of pitch-perfect observation, spiced with wry humour" - OBSERVER

"A highly talented writer" - INDEPENDENT

"A superbly gifted writer ... Freud creates relationships so fraught and delicate that at times the characters can hardly bear to examine them ... She explores them with a dazzling clarity that reveals her true, writer's calling" - NEW YORK TIMES

"A consummate novelist ... Intensely imagined and vividly observed ... Page-turning, complex and emotionally satisfying" - SPECTATOR

"A powerful meditation on love and betrayal, motherhood, human vulnerability and resilience, secrets, disappointment and loss" - LADY

"Freud takes a kaleidoscopic approach to storytelling, shifting time frames and points of view ... Freud brings empathy to the story, her own mother having escaped this fate" - The i